OYSTER CATCHER 249 



once induced, on the recommendation of a friend, to have one 

 served up for dinner as an agreeable variation from the bacon and 

 herrings which mainly constitute the dietary of a Scottish fishing- 

 village inn. But I did not repeat the experiment, preferring fish 

 pure and simple to fish served up through the medium of a fowl. 

 The nature of its food sufficiently accounts for its strong flavour. 

 Oyster Catchers frequent rocky promontories or the broad banks 

 of mud, sand, and ooze, which stretch out from low portions of 

 the coast. Here they feed on mussels and other bivalves, limpets, 

 worms, Crustacea, and small fish ; mixing freely with other birds 

 while on the ground, but keeping to themselves while performing 

 their flights. In their mode of using their wings they remind the 

 spectator of Ducks rather than of Plovers, and they advance in 

 a line, sometimes in single file, one after another, but more fre- 

 quently wing by wing. When they alight, too, it is not with a 

 circular sweep, but with a sailing movement. When the mud- 

 banks are covered by the tide they move to a short distance 

 inland, and pick up slugs and insects in the meadows, or betake 

 themselves to salt marshes and rocky headlands. They have also 

 been observed many miles away from the coast ; but this is a rare 

 occurrence. Their nest is generally a slight depression among 

 the shingle above high-water mark ; but on rocky shores they 

 make an attempt at a nest, collecting a few blades of grass and 

 scraps of sea-weed. They lay three or four eggs, and the young 

 are able to run soon after breaking the shell. 



In high latitudes Oyster Catchers are migratory, leaving their 

 breeding grounds in autumn, and returning in the spring ; con- 

 sequently, those coasts from which they never depart afford an 

 asylum in winter to vast numbers of strangers, in addition to their 

 native population. On the coast of Norfolk, for example, they 

 are to be seen in small parties all through the summer ; but in 

 winter, especially if it be a severe one, they may be reckoned by 

 thousands. They here seem to have favourite spots on which to 

 pass the night. One of these is what is called the " Eastern point " 

 of Brancaster Marsh, a place of perfect security, for it is difficult 

 of access under any circumstances, and cannot be approached at 

 all with any chance of concealment on the part of the intruder. 

 Towards this point I have seen line after line winging their way, 

 all about the same hour, just before sunset, all following the line 

 of the coast, but taking care to keep well out at sea, and all ad- 

 vancing with perfect regularity, every individual in a company 

 being at the same height above the water. They are very wary 

 at this season, insomuch that though I must have seen many 

 thousands, and examined upwards of twenty species of sea-shore 

 birds, which had been shot in the neighbourhood, not a single 

 Oyster Catcher was brought to me. 



A common name for this bird is Sea-pie, another appropriate 



